BV 

ETzT 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



^fje 2aest of jFait^. 



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THE 



REST OF FAITH. 



BY 



KEY. A. B. EAELE. 



" Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and 
I will give you rest." —Matt. xi. 28. 

" For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said." 
— Heb. iv. 3. 




BOSTON: 
JAMES H. EARLE, PUBLISHER, 



Washington Street. 
1871. 

V 



4< 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

JAMES H. EAKLE, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



OAMBKIDGE; 
PilESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 



TO ALL 

"WHO EAENESTLY DESIRE THB 

Eegt of JFattlj, 

THIS BOOK IS SINOEBELY LNSCRIBED BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



THE design of this book is to show- 
how a Christian, though weak and 
imperfect, seeing and knowing but in 
part, surrounded as he must be, while 
living here, with influences opposed to 
Christ and holiness, — may walk with 
Christ without interruption or condem- 
nation. 

That the Holy Spirit may guide the 
answer to this question, and bring 
peace and rest to many anxious, ach- 
ing hearts, is the sincere desire and 

prayer of 

A. B. E. 

Newton, Mass., 1871. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

I. An Enemy Within 11 

II. Testimony ........ 17 

ni. Seventh and Eighth of Romans 85 

IV. Rest found by BeuevinG ... 43 

V. How CAN I ABIDE IN THIS ReST ? . 63 

yi. How He led me 62 

VII. Imperfect, yet Sweetly Resting 82 

Vin. The Value of Faith ..... 89 



THE REST OF FAITH. 



CHAPTER I. 



AN ENEMY WITHIN. 



nPHERE are usually two marked J 

periods in the experience of every 
Christian who learns how to abide in 
Christ's love. 

The first memorable, never-to-be-for- 
gotten season in his history is that hour 
when he receives the witness of his 
adoption, and begins to cry, " Abba, 
Father." " Old things are passed away ; 



12 THE BEST OF FAITH. 

behold, all things are become new." All 
enemies seem slain. His cup of joy is 
full. His peace is like a river. He has 
found "the pearl of great price," and 
desires that all may possess it. The 
language of his heart is,— 

"Now will I tell to sinners round 
What a dear Saviour I have found ; 
ril point to thy redeeming blood, 
And say, Behold the way to God ! " 

He is surprised that every Christian 
is not as happy as he is. He thinks it 
must be they are not faithful to Jesus. 
The way seems so pleasant, and Christ's 
service so easy, that he expects to go 
right on and do every duty, and enjoy 
the same through life. 

But it is not long before he cries out 



AN ENEMY WITHIN. 13 

in great distress : " I see another law in 
my members warring against the law 
of my mind, and bringing me into cap- 
tivity to the law of sin, which is in my 
members." 

He finds he has been doing or saying 
the very things he hates, and leav- 
ing undone the things he should have 
done. He begins to feel condemnation ; 
but, supposing he can soon overcome 
this difficulty, makes new resolutions 
that hereafter he will be faithful. These 
resolutions, however, are not kept. He 
finds it more difficult to perform his 
vows than he expected. He cries out, 
" How to perform that which is good 
I find not." Finding himself disap- 
pointed in his own efforts, he goes to 
the law for assistance ; but the law is 



14 THE BEST OF FAITH. 

too " weak through the flesh " to keep 
him : his peace is greatly interrupted. 

A season of fasting and prayer, with the 
confession of his departures, brings back 
to him " the joy of salvation." But it is 
soon gone. The most thorough conse- 
cration and solemn vows are again made, 
but in spite of all his efforts they are 
broken. He is almost discouraged, and 
cries out : " What shall I do ? " " Who 
shall deliver me from the body of this 
death?" "Is there no balm?" "Is 
there no physician ?" " Must I always 
live in this way ? " 

" You that love the Lord indeed, 
Tell me, is it thus with you V 

I find a large number of Christ's dear 
children in just this restless, anxious 



AN ENEMY WITHIN, 15 

State : dissatisfied with this way of liv- 
ing; hungering and thirsting to know 
how they may abide in the fulness of 
Christ's love without these changes in 
their religious experience. 

And yet, in this very hungering, this 
longing for the fulness of Christ's love, 
among so many Christians, I see signs 
of great promise to the church and the 
world. 

Christ is saying to his people, " Come 
up higher; " and they are coming, where 
they can realize the exceeding blessed- 
ness of a life hid with Christ in God. 

This is no new feeling. Many in the 
past have felt the same, and sought and 
found this blessing. I will, in the fol- 
lowing chapter, give a part of the ex- 
perience of a few of them. 



16 THE REST OF FAITH. 

" I ask them whence their victory came : 
They, with united breath, 
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb, 
Their triumph to his death.'' 

" Stand ye in the ways, and see, and 
ask for the old paths, where is the good 
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find 
rest for your souls." 




CHAPTER 11. 



TESTIMONY. 



■p EV. DR. PAYSON says: " Were 
I to adopt the figurative language 
of Bunyan, I might date this letter from 
the land of Beulah, of which I have been 
for some weeks a happy resident. 

" The celestial city is full in my view ; 
its glories beam upon me; its breezes 
fan me ; its odors are wafted to me ; its 
sounds strike my ears, and its spirit is 
breathed into my heart. Nothing sepa- 
rates me from it but the river of death, 
which now appears but as an insignificant 
2 



18 THE REST OF FAITH. 

rill, that may be crossed at a single step 
whenever God gives permission. 

" The Sun of Righteousness has been 
drawing nearer and nearer, appearing 
larger and brighter as he approached. 
And now he fills the whole herni- 
sphere, pouring forth a flood of glory, 
in which I seem to float like an insect 
in the beams of the sun ; exulting, yet 
almost trembling, while I gaze upon 
this excessive brightness, and wonder- 
ing, with unutterable wonder, why God 
should deign thus to shine upon a simple 
worm." 

After this rich experience, this great 
increase of faith, Dr. Payson cried out, 
in view of his former distressing doubts, 
his severe and unequal struggle with the 
powers of darkness, and the great loss he 



TESTIMONY, 19 

had thereby sustained in his own enjoy- 
ment and usefulness : " Oh that I had 
known this twenty years ago ! " That 
is, that twenty years before he could 
have known, as he did then, that Christ 
had made provisions for him to live and 
walk with him, without these sad, de- 
pressing breaks in his religious enjoy- 
ment; that the keeping power was in 
Christ, and not in his faithfulness : '' We 
are kept by the power of God through 
faith ; " and if our faith in Christ is 
unwavering, nothing can disturb our 
peace and rest. 

Mrs. Edwards, wife of President Ed- 
wards, as far back as 1742, realized this 
same void within, this unrest, this long- 
ing after the fulness of Christ's love. 



20 THE REST OF FAITH. 

She says : " I sought and obtained 
the full assurance of faith. I cannot 
find language to express how certain the 
everlasting love of God appeared : the 
everlasting mountains and hills were but 
shadows to it. My safety and happi- 
ness, and eternal enjoyment of God's 
immutable love, seemed as durable and 
unchangeable as God himself. Melted 
and overcome by the sweetness of this 
assurance, I fell into a great flow of 
tears, and could not forbear weeping 
aloud. 

" The presence of God was so near 
and so real, that I seemed scarcely con- 
scious of any thing else. My soul was 
filled and overwhelmed with light and 
love, and joy in the Holy Ghost, and 
seemed just ready to go away from the 



TESTIMONY. 21 

body. This exultation of soul subsided 
into a heavenly calm and rest of soul in 
God, which was even sweeter than what 
preceded it." 

" My life is folded in the life of Je&us, 
No longer mine, but purchased by that tide, — 
That crimson tide, which, shed on Calvary, frees us 
From those dark stains that in our hearts abide. 
My life is hid with Christ, and I am his : 
Whatever his will, that am I bound to do ; 
Where'er he goes, I cannot stay behind ; 
In what he does my hand shall have employ ; 
Whene'er he suffers, sorrow fills my mind ; 
When he rejoices, I partake the joy. 
He bought me by his blood, and I am his : 
I have no other will, no other grief nor bUss.'' 

James B. Taylor is another instance 
of this rich experience, after years of 
struggle with the powers of darkness. I 
give a few extracts from his memoir. 



22 THE REST OF FAITH, 

He says : " It was on the 23d of April, 
1822, when I was on a visit at Haddani, 
Conn. Memorable day ! The time and 
place will never, no, never, be forgotten. 
I recur to it at this moment with thank- 
ful remembrance. 

" I pleaded and wrestled with God ; 
and, praise to his name, after six long 
years I found what I had so long and so 
earnestly sought. 

" My earnest desire then was, as it 
had been ever since I professed religion 
six years before, that all love of the 
world might be destroyed, all selfishness 
extirpated, pride banished, unbelief re- 
moved, all idols dethroned, every thing 
hostile to holiness and opposed to the 
divine will crucified ; that holiness to 
the Lord might be engraved on my heart, 



TESTIMONY. 23 

and evermore characterize my conversa- 
tion. 

" I felt that I needed that for which I 
was then, and for a long time had been, 
hungering and thirsting. I desired it, 
not for my benefit only, but for that of 
the church and the world. At this very 
juncture I was most delightfully con- \ 
scious of giving up all to God. I was 
enabled in my heart to say: ' Here, Lord, 
take me, take my whole soul, and seal 
me thine, — thine now, and thine for 
ever. If thou wilt, thou canst make me 
clean.' 

," There then ensued such emotions as 
I never before experienced : all was calm 
and tranquil, silent, solemn, and a heaven 
of love pervaded my whole soul. I had 
a witness of God's love to me and of 



24 THE REST OF FAITH. 

mine to him. Shortly after I was dis- 
solved in tears of love and gratitude to 
our blessed Lord. The name of Jesus 
was precious to me, — 

* 'Twas music in my ear/ 

<" He came as King, and took full 
possession of my heart ; and I was en- 
abled to say, ' I am crucified with Christ: 
nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in me.' Let him, as King of 
kings and Lord of lords, reign in me, 
— reign without a rival for ever. 
" I know and am as fully assured of 
*• my acceptance with God as I can be 
\ of my existence, 

" I have no anxiety about the future. 
My only wish is to know what my 
heavenly Father will have me do. 



TESTIMONY. 25 

" I would not determine. ' Speak, 
Lord ; for thy servant heareth.' I am 
not my own keeper; neither would I be 
at my own disposal. Godliness with 
contentment is great gain. I trust I have 
won this prize. 

" People may call this blessing by 
what name they please, — faith of assur- 
ance, holiness, perfect love, sanctifica- 
tion, — it makes no diiBTerence with me 
whether they give it a name or no 
name, it continues a blessed reality ; 
and, thanks to my heavenly Father, it 
is my privilege to enjoy it : it is yours 
also; and the privilege of all to enjoy 
the same, and to go beyond any thing 
that I have ever yet experienced." 

Rev. Daniel Steele, D. D., President 



26 '^ THE REST OF FAITH. 

of Genesee College, says : " At my con- 
version, thirty years ago, through weak- 
ness of faith, the seal of my justification 
was impressed so slightly that the word 
Abba, my Father, was scarcely legible. 
Yet in answer lo a mother's prayers, in 
my infancy, consecrating, with conscious 
acceptance, her son to the Christian min- 
istry, I was called to preach, but called 
with a ' woe unto me,' instead of an 
' anointing with the oil of gladness.' 

" I will not dwell upon the unpleasant 
theme of a ministry of twenty years 
almost fruitless in conversions, through a 
lack of an unction from the Holy One. 
My great error was in depending on the 
truth alone to break stony hearts. The 
Holy Spirit, though formally acknowl- 
edged and invoked, was practically ig- 



TESTIMONY, 27 

nored. My personal experience during 
much of this time consisted in 

* Sorrows and sins, and doubts and fears, 
A howling wilderness.' 

" But I discovered in one who came 
across my path the fulness of the Holy 
Spirit enjoyed as an abiding blessing, 
styled by him ' Rest in Jesus.' I was 
convicted : I sought earnestly th^ same 
great gift, but could not exercise faith 
till I had made a public confession of 
my sin in preaching self more than Christ, 
and in being satisfied w^ith the applause 
of the Church above the approval of her 
divine Head. 

" I immediately began to feel a strange 
freedom daily increasing, the cause of 
which I did not distinctly apprehend. I 
was then led to seek the conscious and 



28 THE REST OF FAITH. 

joyful presence of the Comforter in my 
heart. Having settled the question that 
this was not merely an apostolic bless- 
ing, but for all ages, ' He shall abide 
with you for ever,' I took the promise, 
' Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatso- 
ever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
he will give it you.' The 'verily^ had 
to me all the strength of an oath. Out 
of the ' whatsoever ' I took all temporal 
blessings, not because I did not believe 
them to be included, but because I was 
not then seeking them. I then wrote my 
own name in the promise, not to exclude 
others, but to be sure that I included 
myself. Then writing underneath these 
words, ' To-day is the day of salvation,' 
I found that my faith had three points 
to master: the Comforter^ for me, now. 



TESTIMONY. 29 

" Upon the promise I ventured with an 
act of appropriating faith, claiming the 
Comforter as my right in the name of 
Jesus. For several hours I clung by 
naked faith, praying and repeating 
Charles Wesley's hymn: — 

' Jesus, tliine all-victorious lore 
Shed in my heart abroad/ 

I then ran over in my mind the great 
facts in Christ's life, especially dwelling 
upon Gethsemane and Calvary, his 
ascension, priesthood, and all-atoning 
sacrifice. Suddenly I became conscious 
of a mysterious power exerting itself f 
upon my sensilDilities. My physical sen- 
sations, though not of a nervous tem- 
perament, in good health, alone and 
calm, were like those of electric sparks 



30 THE REST OF FAITH. 

passing through my bosom with slight 
but painless shocks, melting my hard 
heart into a fiery stream of love. Christ 
became so unspeakably precious that I 
instantly dropped all earthly good, repu- 
tation, property, friends, family, every 
thing, in the twinkling of an eye ; my 
soul crying out, 

' None but Christ to me be given, 
None but Christ in earth or heaven/ 

" He stood forth as my Saviour, all ra- 
diant in his loveliness, ' the chief among 
ten thousand.' Yet there was no phan- 
tasm, or image, or uttered word, appre- 
hended by my intellect. The affections 
were the sphere of this wonderful phe- 
nomenon, best described as * the love of 
God shed abroad in the heart by the 



TESTIMONY. . 31 

Holy Ghost.' I was more certain that 
Christ loved me than I was of the exist- 
ence of the solid earth and the shining 
sun. 

" I intuitively apprehended Christ. My 
college class were just then discussing 
the subject of the intuitive cognitions. I 
began to apply Sir Wm. Hamilton's 
tests of these; namely, that they are 
simple, incomprehensible, necessary, and 
universal. The last adjective, of course, 
could not apply to the intuitive belief of 
one individual. 

" But my consciousness testified that 
my certainty of Christ's love had the 
three first-named characteristics, that it 
was to me even a necessary truth, the 
contrary of which was as unthinkable 
as the annihilation of space. The last 



32 THE REST OF FAITH. 

remarkable peculiarity remained more 
than forty days, after which I had hours 
in which I could conceive the contrary 
of the proposition, ' Christ loves me.' 
On such occasions my firm conviction 
of his love was not an intuition, but 
an inference from my past experience, 
together with the absence of any feel- 
ing of condemnation. . . . 

" But language is wholly inadequate 
to express a manifestation of Christ 
which did not formulate itself in words, 
but in the mighty, overwhelming pul- 
sations of love. The joy for weeks was 
unspeakable. ... 

" The ecstasy has subsided into a 
delicious and unruffled peace, rising into 
ecstasy only in acts of especial devo- 
tion. I find no fear of man nor of 



TESTIMONY, 33 

death. I can no longer accuse myself 
of unbelief, the root of all sin. What 
may be in me, below the gaze of con- 
sciousness, I do not know. I must w^ait 
till occasions shall put me to the test. 
It would not be wise for me to assert 
that all sinful ang^r — there is a right- 
eous anger — is taken away, till I have 
passed through a college rebellion, or 
something equally provoking. 

" If sin consists only in active energies, 
I am not conscious of such dwelling 
within me. If sin consists in a state, as 
some assert, I infer that I am not in such 
a state, from the absence of sinful ener- 
gies flowing therefrom, and more espec- 
ially from the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit. I have had no other direct wit- 



34 THE REST OF FAITH. 

ness than that attesting Christ's love 
to me. 

" My experience," he writes, after en- 
joying this blessing several months, " of 
the joy of the Holy Ghost grows richer 
and richer. Every day I seek a place for 
secret praise. I am filled and flooded 
with a sense of the divine love. How 
delightful any kind of service for the 
blessed Master ! How sweet to feel his 
circling arms around one on every side, 
— so that no calamity can possibly be- 
fall the soul ! " 



^ 



CHAPTER III. 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH OF ROMANS. 



npHE Apostle Paul has given us a 
similar experience in the seventh 
and eighth chapters of Romans. 

After his deep conviction for sin, and 
receiving evidence of regeneration, he 
arose and was baptized ; and at once 
commenced to persuade men to embrace 
Christ as their Redeemer. 

He soon connected himself in church 
relation with those disciples he had 
hated and persecuted. In common 
with other converts he found pleasure in 



36 THE REST OF FAITH. 

Christ's service. The Bible now became 
precious to him. " I delight in the law 
of God after the inward man." " The 
law is holy, just, and good," he said. 

But he soon met with a great obstacle 
in the way of his spiritual advancement. 
It was an enemy within, a law in his 
members warring against the law of 
his mind. Sometimes this enemy 
would get great advantage over him, 
and bring him into captivity " to the 
law of sin.-' Strong efforts were at 
once made to overcome this difficulty. 

Repeated resolutions of faithfulness 
were made, but they were not kept. 
" To will," he says, " is present with 
me," — that is, to make good resolutions, 
— "but how to perform that which is 
good I find not." 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH OF ROMANS. 37 

His inability to perform these vows, 
and do what he clearly saw he ought to 
do, troubled him, interfered with his 
peace and usefulness, so that at times 
he became unhappy ; and in his distress 
cried out, " wretched man that I am ! 
who shall deliver me from the body of 
this death?" 

He felt the need of a deliverer, and 
must have one, — ■ a present Saviour to 
keep as well as to redeem him, — or he 
would continue to make resolutions 
without being able to "perform that 
which is good." 

The great burden of his prayer and 
inquiries now seemed to be, to know 
how he could live and walk in the ser- 
vice of Christ, without being brought 
into captivity to sin, to abide in the ful- 



38 THE REST OF FAITH. 

ness of Christ's love without condemna- 
tion. 
V He seemed first to get a glimpse of 
^ Christ in his infinite fulness, as not only 
able to keep him from falling, but to 
keep him through a simple faith from 
condemnation. 

This view greatly encouraged him, 
and caused him to exclaim, " I thank 
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. " 
That is, I thank God there is a deliv- 
erer. " "What the law could not do," 
what conscience could not do, what 
his own faithfulness could never do, 
Christ could do for him. He now saw 
clearly that every necessity was fully pro- 
vided for in Christ. " What the law 
could not do, in that it was weak through 
the flesh," God had sent his Son to do. 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH OF ROMANS, 39 

At this point of his struggle Christ 
seemed to open " his understanding that 
he might understand the Scriptures," 
Here he received light. He discovered | 
that all power to keep as well as to re- ; 
deem was in Christ. His reliance for 
keeping power was transferred from his 
own efforts to Christ. To be faithful 
was then a pleasure, a luxury. Like 
the Redeemer, it was his meat to do the 
.will of God. But his calm, quiet, yet I 
active rest was the rest of faith. 

Christ now became, by a strong faith, ■ 
in - reality his practical deliverer from 
sin and temptation ; his " wisdom, 
righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
demption." At tjiat moment Paul 
" entered into rest." Then he could say 
from actual experience, " There is there- 



40 THE REST OF FAITH, 

fore now (not at death or in the future, 
but now) no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
after the flesh, but after the Spirit/' 
Then he knew (in the higher sense) in 
whom he had believed. His body of 
death was laid down at the cross, and 
never taken back. He went on believ- 
ing, working, triumphing, through all 
the rest of his long and very useful life ; 
willing to stay and toil on earth, but 
having a desire " to depart and be with 
Christ, which is far better." 

He was never again heard to say, " O 
wretched man that I am ! who shall de- 
liver me from the body of this death ? '' 
but, " I can do all things through Christ 
which strengtheneth me," He was con- 
tent in any situation. The fear of 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH OF ROMANS. 41 

death was gone : he was ready to be 
offered at any time. Although imper- 
fect as yet and reaching forth for what 
was before, yet he realized a calm, 
sweet, abiding rest in Christ, that never 
seemed disturbed by the severe trials 
through which he passed. " None of 
these things move me." And when the 
summons came for him to leave his 
work on earth for his crown in heaven, 
it found him still enjoying the rest of 
faith. When the Master asked him to 
lay down his life for him in Rome, he 
said, '' I am ready." 

" Lord, give us such a faith as this ; 
And then, whatever may come, 
We'll taste e'en here the hallowed bhss 
Of an eternal home." 

I could mve a cloud of witnesses all 



42 TEE REST OF FAITH. 

testifying to the same thing ; that is, 
after receiving evidence of regeneration, 
they felt a longing of heart for some- 
thing higher, a state that would en- 
able them to abide in Christ's love 
without interruption. This they sought 
and found, and continued to enjoy until 
dismissed from the toils of earth to the 
joys of heaven; while others, still liv- 
ing, after ten or twenty years continue 
to enjoy the same blessing, with in- 
creasing sweetness ; — showing that 
Christians, though imperfect and un- 
worthy, can by faith rest in a perfect 
Saviour without condemnation. 



CHAPTER IV. 



REST FOUND BY BELIEVING. 



T WILL next answer the anxious 

inquiry that comes from so many 

^struggling, longing, Christian hearts : — 

" How can I reach this state of rest 
in Jesus ? " 

The very first thing to be settled in 
your own mind is this : " Do I fully be- 
lieve Christ has made provision for me 
to abide, without interruption, in the 
fulness of his love ? " If one doubt re- 
mains in your mind about this, you will 



44 TEE REST OF FAITH. 

not obtain it, however anxious or ear- 
nest you are in your efforts. 

As it is attained by faith, it is neces- 
sary for you to believe it attainable. 
Think of the absurdity of praying and 
searching for a thing you doubt can 
be obtained. Would not such an effort 
be solemn mockery ? " What things 
soever ye desire when ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have 
them." 

Let this point be fully settled. Take 
time, if necessary. Search the Scrip- 
tures for light. Pray in faith. If your 
unbelief is in your way, turn all your 
batteries on that; ask those you think 
are walking with Christ to help you. 
Continue these efforts until all doubt is 
gone on the subject, until you become 



EEST FOUND BY BELIEVING, 45 

entirely satisfied that Christ has made 
ample provision for you to abide in his 
love without condemnation. 

When this is clear to your own mind, 
then come to the Saviour just as you 
would if you could see him with your 
natural eyes. Come at once, by a 
childlike, simple faith, believing just 
what he has said. When he says to 
you, " Come unto me, and I will give 
you rest," your immediate reply should 
be, — 

" Just as I am, thou wilt receive, 
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
Because thy promise I believe, 
Lamb of God ! I come, I come7^ 

Do not stop to inquire of Jesus how 
he can give rest to one so sinful and 



46 THE REST OF FAITH, 

unworthy as you are, — to one who has 
made so many vows and resolutions to 
be faithful, and failed. Leave all that 
to him : let him take his own time and 
way to fulfil his promise. It is enough 
for you that he has said, " I will give 
you rest." Expect him to do as he has 
said. 

" Only trust him, only trust him, 
Only trust him just now ; 
Just now only trust him, 
Only trust him just now." 

If you have no emotion, no joy or 
light for the present, no matter: trust 
God in the dark. Let your faith look 
to the other side of the cloud for the 
'^ silver lining." 



HEST FOUND BY BELIEVING. 47 

" Behind a frowning providence 
He hides a smiling face." 

If the Divine face is hid from you, 
and all appears dark, even though the 
providences of God seem to frown upon 
you, — health fails, friends die, property 
is taken away, — still stand j&rm, trust 
all, without wavering, to him. 

" God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." 

" Weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy Cometh in the morning." 

" Though he slay me, yet will I trust 
in him." 

Having consecrated all to Jesus as 
far as knowledge goes, as far as you 



48 THE BEST OF FAITH, 

understand yourself, take nothing from 
the altar ; but expect him to give you 
the evidence of your acceptance, with- 
out one doubt, just when and as he 
pleases, whether you perceive any 
change in your feelings or not. 

"What if for the present your heart 
^ seems harder than ever, and you realize 
^' no love for souls, no enjoyment in 
/ prayer, the promises seem sealed and 
^ hid from your view, and your own heart 
' and life, it may be, never before ap- 
peared so vile and useless, — what of 
it ? You are the patient, and Christ 
the physician: you are not to select the 
remedies, nor the mode of applying 
them. There stand the promises. 
Christ is the same almighty Saviour 



HEtiT FOUND BY BELIEVING. 49 

he would be if every thing was bright 
to you. He may, and probably will, 
answer your prayer very differently from 
any thing you have arranged, or would 
arrange. Newton has so well described 
this point that I will ask you to read 
this hymn carefully: — 

" I asked the Lord that I might grow 
In faith and love and every grace ; 
Might more of Ms salvation know, 
And seek more earnestly Ms face. 

'Twas he who taught me thus to pray, 
And he, I trust, has answered prayer ; 

But it has been in such a way 
As almost drove me to despair. 

I hoped that in some favored hour 
At once he'd answer my request, 

And by Ms love's constraining power 
Subdue my sins and sr^'ve me rest. ■ 



50 THE REST OF FAITH. 

Instead of this, he made me feel 

The hidden evils of my heart ; 
And let the angry powers of hell 

Assault my soul in every part. 

Yea, more : with his own hand he seemed 

Intent to aggravate my woe ; 
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, 

Blasted my gourds, and laid me low. 

* Lord, why is this ? ' I tremblmg cried : 

* Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death % ' 

* 'Tis in this way,* the Lord replied, 

* I answer prayer for grace and faith. 

' These inward trials I employ, 
Erom self and pride to set thee free. 

And break thy schemes of earthly joy, 
That thou may^st seek thy all in me.' " 

The treatmeat of your case may be 
very different from this. But it will be 
in such a way as to humble you in the 



REST FOUND BY BELIEVING. 51 

dust, and let you see that you have not 
had your own way in the matter at all, 
that your will has been given up to 
God. 

If there seems to be a delay in giving 
you this blessing, do not stagger at the 
promise. " Though it tarry, wait for it ; 
because it will surely come, it will not 
tarry ; " that is, it will not tarry a moment 
after you are prepared for its reception. 

Remember God loves you, although 
you are so unworthy of his love ; and 
does not afflict willingly any one. 

As soon as he has prepared you, so 
that you can see that it is all of grace 
through faith that you are kept, and 
you can trust him wholly, then he will 
give you rest, — not fear, not torment, 



52 THE REST OF FAITH. 

but rest; a calm, sweet, abiding rest in 
him. It is your privilege to remain 
in this sweet state of rest in Jesus, 
whatever may be the toils or trials of 
earth, until you receive your crown in 
heaven. 

" Rest, weary soul ! 
The penalty is borne, the ransom paid, 
For all thy sins full satisfaction made ; 
Strive not to do thyself what Christ has done, 
Claim the free gift and make the joy tliine own; 
No more by pangs of guilt and fear distrest, 
Rest, sweetly rest ! " 




CHAPTER V. 



HOW CAN I ABIDE IN THIS REST 1 



"\/'OUR own experience in reaching 
it will furnish the answer. As it is 
reached only by faith, it can be retained 
only by faith. Christ needs no assist- 
ance from you or any one else to keep 
your heart in perfect peace ; but asks 
you to leave it all to him, and says, 
" Only believe." 

Then you can say, " I know whom 
I have believed and am persuaded that 
he is able to keep that which I have 
committed unto him against that day." 



54 THE REST OF FAITH, 

Be faithful and watchful, but do not 
depend on either faith or vigilance. 
Your promises and resolutions, so far 
as keeping you in the love of Christ is 
concerned, are ropes of sand. " We are 
kept by the power of God through faith 
unto salvation." " Only believe." Your 
faith, like Abraham's, is counted to you 
for righteousness. 

If your faith in Christ is unwavering, 
nothing can interrupt your peace and 
rest. The darkness and the light are 
both alike to faith. If your way 
seems dark and hedged up for the pres- 
ent, you need not be troubled. Trust 
God in the dark. 

" Faith is the brightest evidence 
Of things beyond our sight : 
It pierces through the veil of sense, 
And dwells in heavenly Hght." 



HOW CAN I ABIDE IN THIS BEST? 55 

If at any time you are assailed by the 
powers of darkness, or if sudden tempta- 
tion meets you, then let your prayer be, 
''Jesus, keep me ; " or a prayer embrac- 
ing this thought. Depend on Christ 
entirely to keep you. 

You may hear him whispering, " Do 
you believe without a doubt I will keep 
you now ? " If at that moment your 
faith and trust are alone in him, and not 
in your faithfulness, to keep you, he will 
say, " Peace, be still ; " and all will be 
calm. The fiery dart will be quenched 
before it reaches your heart. He will 
keep that soul in " perfect peace " 
whose entire trust is in him. You will! 
not retain this sweet peace and rest by^ 
hard fi ghtin g and personal struggles, 
but by believing. " Only believe," and 



56 THE REST OF FAITH. 

you may look on, while Christ does all 
the rest. Although you are weak and 
imperfect, and see in part, and know 
but in part, yet the grace of God meets 
you in your weakness, and supplies all 
your necessities in Jesus. 

There is one way by which you may 
Know when you are resting in Christ by 
faith. It is when you are bearing the 
fruit of the Spirit, which is " love, joy, 
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, faith, meekness, temperance." Do 
you bear this fruit ? If not, you are not 
abiding in the fulness of Christ's love, 
no matter what you profess. It would 
be well for every Christian to ask, " Do I 
bear this fruit ? If not, I am not right." 

I am very sorry to find persons claim- 
ing to live near the Saviour, w^ho mani- 



BOW CAN I ABIDE IN THIS BEST? 57 

fest a harsh, unkind, and even a fault- 
finding spirit; and in some instances 
whose lives are a reproach. In this way 
Christ is greatly dishonored ; and many 
anxious Christians, who long to get up 
higher and abide in him, are hindered 
and kept back. Any Christian sweetly 
/ resting in Christ will have great pa- 
j tience ; he will not be offended at every 
I little thing ; he will speak kindly, even 
I to those he thinks are wrong. " Char- 
^ ity " — which is love to God and 
man — " suifereth long, and is kind," 
"is not easily provoked," " beareth all 
things." " Charity never faileth." 

Since it does not please God to give 
us any darkness, a Christian resting 
in Christ will have warm and glowing 
love for Christ and his people, and will 



58 THE REST OF FAITH. 

not walk in darkness. If he lacks these 
things, he is not right, does not abide 
in the love of God; and Jesus says, 
" Friend, come up higher." 

He may have severe trials of his faith, 
but will say, " It is the Lord : let him do 
what he will." 

God tried Abraham, — asked him to 
offer up his son. The trial was a severe 
one ; yet he obeyed, although he could 
not understand the reasons for this ap- 
parently strange requirement. He went 
forward without hesitation. He knew 
God could not make a mistake, nor do 
a wrong thing. After this trial, God 
said, " I know Abraham." '' In blessing 
I will bless him." So let us trust God 
in trial, or in affliction, the same as in 
the day of prosperity. 



HOW CAN I ABIDE IN THIS BEST? 59 

" BKnd unbelief is sure to err, 
And scan liis work in vain/' 

Many of God's dealings with us seem 
mysterious now ; but let us quietly and 
trustingly wait : he will make all plain 
to us " hereafter." 

As the fierce winds ruffle the surface 
water, while the deep fountain beneath 
remains calm and peaceful, so the 
' Christian may realize changes in his 
em otions ^ while his faith and rest in 
Christ remain undisturbed. If dear 
ones are removed, he will no doubt 
keenly feel the trial, but will say, " The 
Lord has given, and the Lord has taken 
away ; blessed be the name of the 
Lord." Christ's own fingers take up•^ 
the bleeding veins severed by these.' 
afflictions. 



60 THE REST OF FAITH. 

" If tliou shouldst take them all away, 
Yet would I not repine ; 
Before they were possessed by me, 
They were entu^ely thme." 

This state will prevent gloomy and 
distressing fears about the future. It 
teaches the Christian the great lesson : 
In whatever situation, therewith to be 
content. The fear of death is greatly 
removed ; he knows he has not dying 
grace now, and does not need it ; but 
believes Christ's word, " As thy days, 
so shall thy strength be." He sweetly 
rests in Jesus, expecting grace and help 
just when needed. It would be bur- 
densome to carry dying grace with us 
in all the trials of life. Christ does not 
teach us to pray for bread to-day for all 
coming time, but " day by day." And 



HOW CAN- I ABIDE IN THIS BEST? 61 

hence to a believing, trusting Christian, 
Christ's '' burden is light." Only for 
the present; no anxious care, no 
trouble on our part about " the mor- 
row." " For the morrow " — with Christ 
to arrange and provide for it — ''shall 
take thought for the things of itself." 

" happy Christian ! who can boast, 
' The Son of God is mine/ — 
Happj, though humbled in tlie dust, 
liicli in this s-ift divine.' ' 



-i 



■j» 



CHAPTER VL 



HOW HE LED ME. 



A BOUT ten years ago, I began to 
feel an inexpressible hungering 
and longing for the fulness of Christ's 
love. I had often had seasons of great 
joy and peace in Christ, and in his ser- 
vice. I had seen many precious souls 
brought into the fold of Christ. I fully 
believe I then belonged to Christ, that 
my name was in his family record. 

I loved the work of the ministry, but 
had long felt an inward unrest, a void 
in my soul that was not filled. Seasons 



HOW hi: led me. 63 

of great joy would be followed by sea- 
sons of darkness and doubt. If I had 
peace, I feared it would not continue ; 
and it did not. 

Many anxious Christians came to me, 
complaining of the same thing. How 
could I help them on that point, when I 
did not know how to get right myself? 
I took them to the seventh chapter of 
Romans, and there left them, saying, 
" O wretched man that I am ! who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death ? " 
I was there myself, and supposed I must 
live and die there. 

In this state I was exposed to severe 
temptations and attacks of the enemy. 
I made strong and repeated resolutions 
that I would be faithful, but could not 
keep them. Then I sought and found 



64 THE REST OF FAITH, 

forgiveness again, and was happy, and 
said, "Oh that I could always enjoy such 
peace!" Bat it was soon disturbed by 
some word, or act, or heart-wandering. 

Thus I lived on for many years : now 
happy in my Christian experience, and 
now unhappy ; sometimes doubting 
and fearing, and sometimes resting. 
God gave me success in winning souls, 
and granted me many hours of sweet 
communion with my Saviour, for which 
I am truly grateful ; still I was unsatis- 
fied, — I wanted an uninterrupted rest 
and peace. 

I often read those precious words, 
uttered by our Saviour, " If ye abide in 
me, and my words abide in you, ye 
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you." I longed and prayed 



HOW HE LED ME, 65 

to be there, but knew not the way. Oh 
that some one had then taught me the 
way of rest in Jesus ! 

I frequently met Christians who 
claimed sinless perfection : many of 
them were, indeed, a better type of 
Christians than ordinary professors; but 
they did not seem perfect to me. The 
rest in Jesus, for which I longed, was 
still unfound. 

At last I felt that the question for me 
to settle was this, — Can an imperfect 
Christian sweetly and constantly rest in 
a perfect Saviour, without condemna- 
tion? 

This I revolved in my mind for a long 
time. I read, as far as I could, the ex- 
periences of those who seemed to live 
nearest to Christ. I searched the Scrip- 
5 



66 THE BEST OF FAITH. 

tures for light, and asked such as I 
believed had power with God to pray 
with and for me, that I might be led 
aright on this great question. At length 
I became satisfied that Christ had made 
provision for me and all his children to 
abide in the fulness of his love without 
one moment's interruption. 

Having settled this, I said : I need 
this; I long for it; I cannot truly repre- 
sent religion without it, and Christ is 
dishonored by me every day I live with- 
out it. 

I therefore deliberately resolved, by 
the help of my Redeemer, to obtain it 
at any sacrifice ; little realizing how un- 
like Christ I then was, or how much 
would be needed to bring me there. 

I first procured a blank book, which I 



EOlV HE LED ME, 67 

called my " Consecration Book," and 
slowly and solemnly, on my knees, 
wrote in it the following dedication : — 

Andover, February 10, 1859. 

" This day I make a new consecra- 
tion of my all to Christ. 

" Jesus, I now and for ever give my- 
self to thee ; my soul to be washed in 
thy blood and saved in heaven at last ; 
my whole body to be used for thy glory ; 
my mouth to speak for thee at all 
times ; my eyes to weep over lost sin- 
ners, or to be used for any purpose for 
thy glory ; my feet to carry me where 
thou shalt wish me to go ; my heart to 
be burdened for souls, or used for thee 
anywhere; my intellect to be employed 
at all times for thy cause and glory. I 



68 THE REST OF FAITH, 

give to thee my wife, my children, my 

property, all I have, and all that ever 

shall be mine. I will obey thee in 

every known duty. 

"A. B. E." 

I then asked for grace to enable me 
to carry out that vow, and that I might 
take nothing from the altar. I sup- 
posed, with this consecration, entire as 
far as knowledge went, I should soon 
receive all that my longing heart could 
contain ; but in this I was sadly mis- 
taken, 

1 think I then came nearer to Christ. 
But as clearer light began to shine 
into my heart, I saw more of its vile- 
ness. 

I find in my journal the following : — 



HOW HE LED ME, 69 

Boston, December 22, 1859. 

" The last three weeks have been 
weeks of great searching of heart. I 
never had my heart so searched before. 
I detect pride, envy, self-will, a great 
deal of unbelief, my love to the Saviour 
to be very weak. Yet I have conse- 
crated all to Christ, and cannot with- 
draw it from the altar. Oh, can a worm 
so vile be like Christ ? I know it is 
possible ; and if I am ever to be like 
him, why not now, while I am where 
I can do good in leading others to 
him?" 

I felt like a patient who, though in 
the hands of a skilful physician, groans 
and writhes under the severe treatment 
which has been found necessary in order 
to save his life. But my constant 



s^ 



70 THE REST OF FAITH. 

prayer was, ^' Be thorough with me, 
Jesus, — be thorough." Many a discour- 
aging day followed this consecration 
and these heart-searchings. I grew 
weak and small and unworthy in my 
own estimation. 

At times my joy and peace were 
almost unbounded. Sometimes I felt 
that I grasped the prize so earnestly 
sought, but was shown some hidden 
sin in my heart which greatly humbled 
and distressed me. How fully I realized 
the words of J. B. Taylor, who said, 
while seeking this blessing, " Notwith- 
standing my profession that I had cruci- 
fied the world, the flesh, and the devil, 
I have had keener sorrows for indwelling 
sin than I ever experienced before con- 
version. 



HOW HE LED ME, 71 

" Oh, the distress which I have felt on 
account of pride, envy, love of the 
world, and other evil passions which 
have risen up and disturbed my peace, 
and separated between God and my 
soul!" How many have realized all 
this, and even more, in their struggles 
after abiding rest in Jesus ! 

One sin that troubled me most, and 
was the hardest to overcome, was a 
strong will, — a desire, and almost a 
determination, to have my own way; — 
and thus — even in regard to little 
things, or any little injury or supposed 
wrong — to speak without reflection, 
and sometimes severely, even to those I 
knew were my friends ; to say, " I will 
do this," and " I will not do that." 

This I clearly saw must be overcome, 



72 THE REST OF FAITH. 

if I would become a consistent and use- 
ful Christian. As I could not do it 
myself, I gave it over to Jesus : he 
could give me grace to overcome even 
this. But I found I gave nothing into 
the hands of Jesus, except by a simple 
faith. My faith was very deficient and 
weak: to believe the promises fully was 
not easy. I believed the theory of 
religion ; but to have my heart grasp 
the reality, without wavering, was more 
difficult. Yet I found my faith grow- 
ing stronger, until at last I came to 
believe just what God has said in his 
word. I found first the blade of faith, 
then the ear, and then the full corn in 
the ear. No rest could be obtained 
until I could believe just what God had 
said, and trust him fully. 



HOW HE LED ME, 73 

I felt that I must have in my heart 
something I did not then possess. Be- 
fore I could be filled with the fulness of 
Christ's love I must be emptied of self. 
Oh, the longing of my heart for what I 
then believed, and now believe, to be 
sweet and constant rest in Jesus ! I 
believed I should receive it, and thought 
it was near. 

I soon found it easier to resist temp- 
tation. I began to trust Christ and his 
promises more fully. 

With this mingling of faith, desire, 
and expectation, I commenced a meet- 
ing on Cape Cod. After re-dedicating 
myself, in company with others, anew 
to God, I was in my room alone, plead- 
ijjig for the fulness of Christ's love, when 
all at once a sweet, heavenly peace filled 



74 THE REST OF FAITH. 

all the vacuum in my soul, leaving no 
longing, no unrest, no dissatisfied feel- 
ing in my bosom, I felt, I knew, that I 
was accepted fully of Jesus. A calm, 
simple, childlike trust took possession 
of my whole being. I felt that if I had 
a thousand hearts and lives, I would 
give them all to the Saviour : my grate- 
ful love to him found expression in these 
glowing lines : — 

" Oh for a thousand tongues to sing 

My dear Redeemer's praise ; 

The glories of my God and King, 

Tlie triumphs of his grace ! " 

Then, for the first time in my life, ] 
had that rest which is more than peace, 
I had felt peace before, but feared I 
should not retain it ; now I had peace 
without fear, which really became rest. 



HOW HE LED ME. 75 

That night I retired to sleep without 
one fear, — much like a tired babe rest- 
ing in its mother's arms. I believed 
Jesus had received me, and would keep 
me. I had no fear of losing that happy 
state : the fear which had so disturbed 
my rest was taken away. I seemed in 
a new world : my burden was gone, my 
cup was full, and Jesus was present 
with me. I felt not only that I was 
forgiven and cleansed, but that Jesus 
would hereafter keep me ; that I should 
not have to help him keep me, as I had 
been vainly trying to do, but could trust 
it all to him ; that now I had two hands 
instead of one to work with. 

I was a Christian before. I loved 
Christ, and his people, and his cause ; 



76 THE REST OF FAITH. 

yet did not, could not, trust myself 
without fear in his hands. But now 
I seemed all at once to lose a great 
burden of care and anxiety. 

I found that much of my care had 
been not only useless, but a hinderance 
to my success, rendering my work in 
Christ's cause much harder and less 
pleasant to myself. I had been like the 
traveller with a heavy burden on his 
back, who, when invited by a friend to 
ride in his carriage and rest himself, 
took his seat with his burden still 
weighing him down. When asked to 
lay his burden off while riding, and rest, 
he replied, " Oh, sir, you have been so 
kind to let me ride, I will carry my bur- 
den myself." I had not learned to lay 
my burden on Jesus while toiling in his 



HOW HE LED ME. 77 

vineyard, which would have rendered 
my work comparatively light and easy. 

The Bible seemed like a new book. 
I had, as it were, read with a veil before 
my eyes. All through the week I 
labored on without fear of losing the 
long-sought, and now so highly-prized 
blessing. I believed, in the hour of 
temptation, Christ would keep me, and 
I should not lose that happy state. 

This change occurred about five 
o'clock on the evening of the second 
day of November, 1863 ; and although 
I never felt so weak and small, yet 
Jesus has been my all since then. 
There has not been one hour of con- 
scious doubt or darkness since that 
time. A heaven of peace and rest fills 
my soul. D.ay and night the Saviour 



78 THE REST OF FAITH. 

seems by me. Preaching is a luxmy, 
— it is a glorious work. In prayer 
Christ does not seem far away, but near 
and with me. The Bible still appears 
like a new book. All Christians are 
dearer to me than ever before. All 
earthly ties are more precious to me ; 
home, friends, all blessings, temporal 
or spiritual, are dearer and brighter than 
ever before. That terrible fear and tor- 
ment about death is in a great measure 
gone. Thought is quickened. My 
views of truth are much clearer than 
before. I have come to believe just 
what God says. I can trust him. and 
go forward, even " with sealed orders." 

My success in leading souls to Jesus 
has been much greater than before. 
My joy in telling the world of Christ 



HOW HE LED ME, 79 

and his goodness constantly increases. 
And as I realize more and more the 
greatness of his love, and the perfection 
of his character, my swelling heart often 
cries out, — 

" Oh, could I speak the matchless worth, 
Oh, could I sound the glories forth. 
Which m my Saviour sliine ! " 

Oh that I had an angel's tongue, or 
could in some way express to others the 
love I bear to Jesus ! 

" I'd sing the characters he bears, 
And all the forms of love he wears, 
Exalted on his throne/' 

If any one should ask if this is " sin- 
less perfection," I would answer, No, by 
no means. I feel very imperfect and 
weak, yet I am enabled to believe and 



80 THE REST OF FAITH. 

trust Jesus ; and he is so near that I 
have realized, in several instances of lit- 
tle inconsistences, that before the dark 
wave reached my soul to produce con- 
demnation, Jesus said, " Peace, be still." 

Temptation is presented, but the 
power of it is broken. I seem to have 
a present Saviour in every time of need ; 
so that for several years I have done the 
trusting and Jesus the keeping ; it is 
much easier now to resist temptation 
than it was before. 

I feared the crosses would be much 
heavier if I was nearer Jesus ; but they 
are much lighter now ; so that I can 
sum it all up in a few w^ords, and call it, 
not perfection, not a sinless state, but 
rest — the rest of faith, — a calm, sweet 
resting all with Christ. This state of 



HOW HE LED ME. 81 

heart is reached only by faith, and re- 
tained only by faith ; not by helping 
Christ take care of us, but by trusting 
him to do it all. 




CHAPTER VII. 



IMPERFECT, YET SWEETLY RESTING. 



T^OES any one ask how an imperfect 
Christian can rest in a perfect Sav- 
iour, and feel no condemnation ? 

For many years I stumbled at this 
point. T could not then find, and can- 
not now, the doctrine of sinless perfec- 
tion, in this life, in the word of God. 
And yet I find imperfect and erring 
Christians sweetly abiding in Christ's 
love, walking with him, without condem- 
nation. " Enoch walked with God," in 
the higher sense, " and he was not, for 



IMPERFECT, YET S WEE TL Y RES TING, 83 

God took him." For three hundred 
years his peace and rest in God seein 
to have been undisturbed. 

Paul says, " There is therefore now no 
condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the Spirit." He realized 
this in his own experience, and yet con- 
fesses his imperfections as a Christian. 
Many others have experienced and con- 
fessed the same. 

After a long search and much prayer, 
I found that the secret of rest in Christ 
was not in our perfect soundness, nor in 
our entire obedience ; but in our entire 
surrender of all to Christ, with an un- 
wavering, unquestioning trust ; and his 
meeting all the demands of the law in 
such a way that the soul realizes no con- 



84 THE REST OF FAITH, 

demnation. He '' is the end of the law 
for righteousness to every one that believ- 
eth ; " that is, meets all the demands of 
the law, fulfils all its requirements for 
us, on the simple condition that we fully 
believe in him, and confide all to him ; 
no merit in us, no righteousness, no 
equivalent rendered by us ; Jesus does it 
all, redeems, keeps, and sanctifies. 

Perhaps a figure will relieve the mind 
of the reader : — 

Suppose you had a great many debts 
coming due every day, and these debts 
were a constant source of grief and 
pain because you were unable to meet 
the demands, though they were just. 

After a long season of distress and 
worrying, a kind rich friend says to you, 
" I know all about your indebtedness, 



IMPERFECT, YET SWEETLY RESTING. 85 

and your inability to meet it ; but if you 
will come to my house, and trust all to 
me, I promise you undisturbed rest as 
long as you choose to remain with me : 
no one shall disturb you." You fully 
believe and trust him, and go to his 
house. A short time after reaching his 
home, you hear his bell ring. He goes 
to the door. Some one inquires if you 
are in the house ; your friend replies 
that you are, and asks what is wanted. 
The creditor at the door says, " I have 
a bill of fifty dollars I would like to 
have him settle." The bill is promptly 
paid by your friend without disturbing 
you. Thus your rich friend continues 
to meet all just demands brought 
against you during your stay with him. 



86 THE REST OF FAITH. 

He knew before he made the offer just 
what he was undertaking to do, and 
that he had all needed means to do 
with. 

Do you not see how you could be at 
rest, knowing that your rich friend was 
daily meeting demands that you were 
entirely unable to pay, while his means 
were unbounded? 

This rich, precious friend is Jesus, 
who said to me long ago, when I was 
worrying over my inability to keep my- 
self or atone for one sin, " Come unto 
me, and I will give you rest." " All 
power is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth." '' I came into this 
world to help just such sinners as you 
are." But I did not, and seemingly 



IMP ERF E C r, YET S WEETL Y EES TING, 87 

could not, believe it, and continued to 
worry. But at last I was enabled to 
believe just what Jesus said, and trust 
him entirely ; and at once he gave me 
rest, — not fear, not torment, but sweet, 
constant, abiding rest. 

Thus w4iile I believe and trust Christ 
entirely, nothing wavering, he gives me 
rest ; not Jesus and my faithfulness, but 
Jesus alone, gives me rest. So that 
Christ is made at this very point, to 
those who fully believe, " wisdom, 
righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
demption." Christ meets at first, and 
all along the way, the demands of the 
law for us, on the simple condition that 
we fully believe, and trust all to him. 

In this way an imperfect Christian 



88 THE REST OF FAITH. 

can, by an unshaken faith, rest in a 
perfect Saviour without condemnation. 
His faith is counted (as it was to Abra- 
ham) for perfect satisfaction for every 
claim the perfect law of God brings 
against the soul. 



r^M^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE VALUE OF FAITH. 

" Faith is the rainbow's form 
Hung on the brow of heaven ; 
The glory of the passing storm, 
The pledge of mercy given. 
It is the bright triumphal arch, 
Through which the saints to glory march." 

L^AITH is so important that the soul 
cannot be saved without it. When 
Christ finds a lost, condemned sinner 
asking what he must do to be saved, he 
does not send him to the law for help, 
nor require of him an equivalent for 
salvation ; but takes from him all reli- 



90 THE REST OF FAITH. 

ance on every thing but himself, and 
says, " Only believe." If this is done, 
there is at once a transfer of Christ's 
perfect righteousness to him, and his 
pollution and guilt to Christ. In this 
way every demand of the law is met as 
perfectly as it would be if the sinner had' 
never fallen. 

No wonder that when this stupen- 
dous plan of redemption was first ru- 
mored in heaven, the angels wanted to 
look into it. Every attribute of the 
Godhead here seems united to save a 
lost soul. " Mercy and truth are met 
together ; righteousness and peace have 
liissed each other." What a meeting 
and blending of divine perfection. " O, 
the depth of the riches, both of the wis- 
dom and knowledge of God." 



THE VALUE OF FAITH. 91 

" Here the whole Deity is seen ; 
Nor can a creature trace 
Which of the glories brighter shine, 
The justice or the grace/^ 

The same truth is seen in the expe- 
rience of all who abide in Christ's love. 
They do not continue there simply be- 
cause they are faithful and watchful, 
but because they rely — not partly, but 
wholly — on Christ to keep them. Faith 
sprinkles the blood on the door-posts, 
and retires within the house and is 
calm. God sees the blood, and passes 
by. So that our peace and rest are 
undisturbed, while our faith in Clmst 
remains unshaken. 

There need not necessarily be a 
change in the opinions or doctrines of 
one abiding in Christ's love : his senti- 



92 THE REST OF FAITH. 

merits never may have been dearer to 
him. The difference is in his faith. He 
has let go of all but Jesus, and relies 
on him for peace and rest, and is not 
disappointed. 

Formerly, if he had a season of great 
religious enjoyment, he was almost 
sure that it would be followed by de- 
pression and darkness. Now it is not 
so: he can trust -Christ without this 
fear, and may go forward trusting and 
resting through life. " They that trust 
in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, 
which cannot be removed, but abideth 
for ever." 

Reader, before I close let me ask you, 
Are you enjoying the fulness of Christ's 
love ? are you sweetly resting in Christ 
by faith now ? If so, will you, with a 



THE VALUE rOF FAITH, 93 

grateful, humble heart, make known (if 
you are not now doing it) in every suit- 
able way and place this rich experience ? 
Say to all around you, " Come and 
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will 
declare what he has done for my soul." 
Christ says, " Ye are my witnesses." 
The Spirit will use your testimony in 
assisting others to " obtain like precious 
faith." 

Christians all around you are groan- 
ing and suffering for the want of the 
very light you can give them. Not 
only let your light shine on this subject, 
but let it, like the light along our coasts, 
be a "revolving light," throwing off its 
bright and happy rays all around you. 

But if you are yet saying, " O 
wretched man that I am ! who shall de- 



94 THE REST OF FAITH. 

liver me from the body of this death? " 
if you realize in your heart an unrest, a 
hungering and thirsting after the fulness 
of Christ's love, let me urge you at 
once, without dismissing the subject 
from your thoughts, to give yourself 
anew to the Saviour, never to be taken 
back. Press your importunity for light 
and help at this point. Begin to trust 
Christ as never before, without ques- 
tioning. Trust him all you can just to- 
day. Pray for faith: it is the gift ^ of 
God in answer to prayer. Ask, seek, 
knock, until the door is opened to you, 
until you can believe just what God 
has said, and trust him without waver- 
ing. The time is short; w^hat you do 
must be done soon. Christ paid a 
great price for you, and needs you with 



THE VALUE OF FAITH, 95 

your full armor on. Souls on every 
hand are pressing their way to death, 
and nriust be saved soon, or not at all. 
" Awake ! awake ! put on thy strength, 
O Zion ; put on thy beautiful garments, 
O Jerusalem, the holy city." Thus 
arrayed "one can chase a thousand.'' 
And Christ will then lay out plenty of 
work for you, knowing that you are not 
only willing, but prepared by the fulness 
of his love, to do it. 

"When you can trust Christ without 
wavering, and a calm, sweet, abiding 
peace and rest fill your whole heart, 
then you are just prepared to grow in 
divine things. The roots of your faith 
can strike deep into the soil of truth 
and love, and need not be disturbed 
again until transplanted into heavenly 



96 THE REST OF FAITH. 

soi], there to continue to grow and 
flourish for ever in the garden of the 
Lord. '^ And so shall we ever be with 
the Lord." 

" Then shall I see and hear and know 
All I desired or wished below ; 
And ev^ry power jSnd sweet employ 
In that eternal world of joy." 




